Molding apparatus.



No. 741,488. PATENTED OCT. 13, 1903. R. M. HALE. MOLDING APPARATUS.

. APPLIOATIONTILED APR. 4. 1903.

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PATEN'IED 001". 13, 1903. R. M. HALE. MOLDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION nun APR. 4. 1903.

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MOLDING APPARATUS.

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Patented October 13, 1906 PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT M. HALE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MOLDING 'APPARA'TUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letterslatent No. 741,488, dated October 13, 1903.

Application filed April 4, 1903- Serial No. 151,177. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, ROBERT M. HALE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Molding Apparatus, of which the following My invention relates to molding apparatus for compacting cohesive material into any desired form.

My machine may be employed for producing bricks or blocks from clay or other material which is by nature plastic or for prod ucing bricks or blocks from pulver'ulent ores or flue-dust, it being commonly necessary, how ever, when working with the last-named materials to employ lime or other adhesive material to act as a bond to hold the particles together and impart-suliicient strength'to permit subsequent handling. The blocks thus produced from ores and flue-dust are used for smelting and are commonly termed briquets.

The object of my invention is to produce an apparatus which'is simple in construction, of large capacity,pow'erful in its compressive action, and positive in its operation. It is also my object to reduce the danger of ,breakage to a minimum. Theparticular devices by which these different objects are attained I are pointed out more specifically in the claims drawn from the molds.

mold-drum.

and are illustrated in the'accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a general planIview of the machine. of. Fig. 3 is a sideview, in vertical longitudinal section, showing the plungers with- Fig. 4 is'a fragmen tary detail view showing the method of attaching the mold blocks to the heads of the Fig. 5 is an enlarged view, in vertical longitudinal section, showing the construction of the mold-drum andthe primary plungers; Fig. 6 is a sectional view through the hopper on the line 6 6, Fig.3. Fig. 7 is a side view of the link-and-togglemechanism for operating the primaryplungers and rotating the mold-drum. Fig. 8 is a fragmcn-' tary detail view showing the method of adjusting the tension of the safety-spring in the I repressing mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a general side view there- Mold-drum-B represents the mold-drum,-

which is loosely mounted, so as to rotate upon the fixed shaft b. Said shaft extends transversely across the machine and in.the preferred construction is keyed to the pillowblock a and retained therein by means of the pillow-block cap 00'. The mold-drum is cylindrical and consists of the drum-heads b and the mold-blocks b ,bolted or otherwise secured together and mounted on shaft 1) loosely, so as to rotate thereon, but without lateral motion. Said drum-heads have hand-holes b for affording access to the interior of the drum. By preference the mold blocks are eight in number, and the edges thereof are beveled, so that the planes of contact extend radially from the shaft 1) as a center. Each of said blocks is provided with a series of chambers c, which constitute the molds. The bottoms b of the molds are formed conveniently by boring only part way through the mold-blocks, so as to leave a portion of the metal remaining. In the present machine each mold-block b is provided with two rows of molds, eight molds to a row, consequently giving the machine one hundred and twentyeight molds in all. Of course the number of mold-blocks may be varied; but in themachine here illustrated sixteen briquets are formed simultaneously,and the machine consequently has a large capacity. The molds are preferably cylindrical with the exception that there is a slight flaring or outward tapering toward the mouth of the molds, so that the mouth of a mold is of slightly greater diameter than the bottom thereof.

' The mold-bottoms b are apertured to receive the stems c of the ejector-platesc.

Said plates fit in said molds, so as to' be movable upand down therein andforma false bottom thereto. are normally held in contact with the moldbottom b by means ofthe springsc acting against the heads 0 of the ejector-stems. 'It is the function of the ejector-plates to force the material out of the molds after it has Said ejector-plates c been compacted, and this is accomplished by means of the cam cl, which is held stationary in the machine inside of the drum and has a working face against which the heads 0 of the ejector-stems are brought as the drum rotates. The working face of said cam is formed eccentrically,so that the portion thereof first contacted by the ejector-heads is nearest to the axis of the drum. The parts are so proportioned that as the drum revolves beyond the point at which the compressing action has been completed the ejectors will come into contact with the cam d and by reason of the eccentricity of said cam be forced upward toward the mouth of the mold, thus discharging the briquet therefrom. The cam 61 is attached to the cam-arm d, and said arm is rigidly fixed upon the shaft 1) by means of the key cl or any other suitable means.

The mold-drum Bis rotated intermittently by means of the ratchet e and dog (2. (Shown separately in Fig. 7.) Said ratchet is concentric with the shaft 1) and is made to rotate with the drum B, the preferred construction being to bolt said ratchet to one of the heads b of the mold-drum. Said dog e is pivoted upon the pin 6 mounted upon the rockerarm e Said rocker-arm is loosely mounted, so as to rotate freely upon the shaft 1), and the parts are so designed that when the pin 6 moves rearward in the direction of the arrow, Fig.7, the dog e slips by the teeth of the ratchet 6 without moving the drum. In its rearward motion the dog 6' moves more than one tooth-space on the ratchet efor example, to the dotted position shown in Fig. 7- so that on the forward motion of said dog there is a lost-motion interval before the dog engages a tooth upon said ratchet. During the rearward motion of the dog 6, as well as during the forward lost-motion interval, the drum B remains still, so that the pressing mechanism is afforded opportunity to operate, as will be hereinafter described. The dog 6 is operated by means of the rod e, which is pivoted to the pin 6 and also to the pin 6 carried in the arnif. In order to afford adjustment in the length of the rod 6 the turn-' buckle c is provided. The arm fis rigidly secured to the rock-shaft f, which is journaled in the bearingfin the main frame A. The rock-arm f isalso rigidly fixed to the shaft f and is operated by the connectingrod f whereto it is pivoted by means of the pin f. The remaining extremity of the connecting-rod f is attached to the eccentricstrap g,which cooperates with the eccentric g, fixed to the main driving-shaft g Said shaft is journaled in the bearing g in the main frame of the machine and may be rotated by means of the band-wheel g as shown.

Primarypresst'ng mechanism.--The initial pressure is given to the material in the molds by the primary plungers h h, which in the present instance are arranged in two horizontal rows one above the other, eight plungers in a row, to correspond to the arrangement of the molds in the drum B. Said plungers are cylindrical to correspond to the form of the molds and are so mounted that their forward portion will slide in the stationary guide It. The rear portion of said plungers is slidingly mounted in the cross-head formed of the parts 72 and 72 Said forward part 7L2 has the cylindrical apertures h therein for slidingly receiving the plungers h. The rear part h of said cross-head consists of a plate bolted or otherwise secured to said forward part and constitutes a closure for the inner or rear extremities of said apertures.

The plungers h have a counterbore-ehamber 'L', which receives the helical spring 1:. The plunger-stems 2' are inclosed within said springs t" and are rigidly attached at their forward extremity to the forward portion of the plunger h. The rear portions of said stems t penetrate the cross-head plate 7r, but slide loosely in the same. The nut 71 is screwed on the rear threaded portion of the plunger-stem i behind the cross-head plate 7L3. By this arrangement the springs t" tend to force the plungers it forward in the aperture t' until the limit is reached, when the nuts '5 come into contact with the cross-head plate 7L3. By means of said nuts the extreme forward position of the plungers relative to the cross-head maybe adjusted.

The cross-head above described reciprocates in the guides j, mounted on the main frame A, and is reciprocated backward and forward by means of the front and rear toggle -arms 7t and m, respectively. The forward extremity of the said arm 7.; is pivotally connected to the said cross-head by means of the pin 75, which is journaled in the lugK, formed on said cross-head. Said toggle-arm 71; is pivotally connected to the toggle-center 7.5 by means of the pin [63. The rear togglearm m is pivotally connected to the togglecenter by means of the pin m and at its rear extremity is pivoted to the shaft m Said shaft is fixed in the bearing m mounted on the framework A. Said toggle-center is operated by means of the pitman n, which is rigidly fixed at one end to said toggle-center and at the other end is pivoted to the rockerarm n by means of the crank-pin n. Said rocker-arm n is keyed or otherwise rigidly secured to the rock-shaft 77. which is journaled in the bearings a on the framework A. In operation when the rocker-arm n is oscillated the pitman n is raised and lowered, thus straightening and fiexing the togglearms k and m, and consequently causing the forward and backward movement of the cross-head I1 7L3 in the guides j.

The shaft n is rocked by means of the arm at, which is keyed or otherwise rigidly secured thereto. At the extremity of said arm is the pin a, which affords pivotal connection to the rod 927. Said rod is provided with a turnbuckle a which is connected at its other extremity to the arm n by means of the pin 91". Said arm 129 is keyed or otherwise rig- TIO idly secured tothe rock-shaft f above mentioned. Inasmuch as the arms 11, and f are both keyed to the same shaft, the proper relative motions ofthe plungers and drum are as-. sured.

Material is supplied to the mold through the hopper 0, which is located above the feeding-chamber 0'. Said chamber is located between the mold-drum and the plungers h, as shown in Fig. 3. The stationary guide 72. forms the rear plate of said chamber, while the plate 0 forms the bottom and .plateso the sides thereof. In order to prevent the material from becoming compacted in the feeding-chamber 0, and thereby clogging the same and preventing the complete filling of the molds, the vertically-reciprocating feeder p is arranged to travel up and down in said feeding-chamber and be guided in its motion by means of the guides 10 on the side walls 0 of the feeding-chamber, as best shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Said feeder is operated within the feeding-chamber by means of the bell-cranks which are pivotally supported on the lugs 11 formed on the guides j, above mentioned. The second pair of lugs p are also formed on said guides and constitute pivotsfor the bell-crank 19 The lower arm of each bell-crank 19 is slotted to receive the pin 19", attached to the inner end of the pins k, above mentioned. The upper arms of said bell-cranks are connected by means of the rod 10 and the parts are so arranged that when the cross-head and plungers move toward the molds the feeder p is raised clear of said plungers; but when said plungers are drawn back into the position shown in Fig. 3 said feeder is lowered into the feeding-chamber, carrying with it the material from above.

Bra-pressing mechanism. -On the .side of the drum opposite to the primary plungers h are the secondary or re-pressing plungers g, which correspond in numbers to said primary plungers and are adapted to enter the molds to give'a final pressure to the material which is already compacted therein. Said plungers q are bolted or otherwise secured to the aux"- iliary cross-head g, which slidesin the-guides r. The main re-pressing cross-heads s also slide in said guides a" and are connected together by means of the bars The crosshead q is connected to the cross-heads s by means of the tension-rods g which are secured at one end to said cross-head q, but at the other end have a sliding bearing in said cross-heads 8. Nuts 1" are screwed onto said rods g behind the cross-heads s, and as a result when the cross-heads move in a rears and safety-blocks 3 said levers being piv otally mounted on the cross-bar s. Said blocks are round at their ends and ,are-designed to fitin the shallow recesses 3 formed in the levers s and the shallow recesses 1 I in the manner hereinafter described the resistance of the plungers q will tend to rotate the safety-levers s' in the direction of the arrow on said levers, Fig. 3. The rod 1"? joins the lower extremities of the levers s and serves as a point of attachment for thehelical tension spring 25 near the center of the machine. The extremityt of said spring is carried through asuitable aperture in the cross-frame 25 v and is threaded to receive the adjusting-nut t on the opposite side of said cross-frame. operate said nut 15 from the outside of the machine-frame, said nut is provided with a miter-gear 15 which is engaged by the mitergear 25 on the rod 25, as best shown in Fig. 8. Said rod i is carried to the side of the machine-frame, where it is provided with a hand-wheel 25 By this mechanism the rotation of said hand-wheel 25 will control the po- In order to conveniently sition of the spring extremity t inthe crossframe 1?, thereby regulating the tension of the spring r The bar 8 is reciprocated backward and forward in the guides r by means of the connecting-rod u, which is pivoted at one end in said bar and is rigidly connected at the other end to the eccentric-strap u. The turnbuckle a is providedinsaid connecting-rod to allow a forward adjustment in the operative length thereof. The eccentric-strap u works upon the eccentric u which is keyed or otherwise rigidly secured to the main driving-shaft 9 The rotation of the shaft 9 causes the reciprocation of the main re-pressing cross-heads s and the auxiliary re-pressiug cross-head q and plungers q.

As above stated, the safety-blocks s are slightly oblique to the line of force in which the bar 8 acts in forcing the plungers q into the molds. Consequently during compression there is .a tendency for said blocks to rotate the levers .9 about the bar 3 as a ful-' crum. The parts are so arranged that the direction of such rotation is such as to elon-, gate the spring t against the tensiohal resistance thereof, this direction beingindicated by the arrow on said lever, Fig. 3. If the resistance encountered by the plungers q becomes too great and the levers s are'swung too far out'of normal, the safety-blocks s will slip out of the recesses 8 which engage them, and will drop out of position, so as to be inoperative in the transmission of force to the cross ing the tension of the spring t by means of material to completely fill the molds.

the above-described mechanism provided for the purpose the parts may be so adjusted that a definite amount of pressure may be given to the material in the mold, and any pressure in excess of the amount desired will be absorbed by the spring t. In practice the parts are so arranged that it is only when an unusual resistance is encountered by the plungers as, for example, when the latter fail to register with the mold,--that the safety-levers s are thrown to such an extent as to actually displace the safety-blocks 5 In order'to carry away the blocks or briquets as they are discharged from the machine, a carrier belt or conveyer o is provided and leads over the drum 1: on the shaft 0 Said shaft 11 is suitably mounted in the lower portion of the machine in such a position that the conveyor passes beneath the mold-drum B. The shaft c is rotated preferably by means of the sheave o thereon, said sheave being driven by means of the rope or belt to, which trains over said sheave o and also over the sheave w, secured to the main drivingshaft g v In the operation of the machine the mateterial to be compressed is supplied through the hopper 0 to the feed-chamber 0', and said material is agitated in said feed-chamber by means of the feeder 19, so that the primary plungers It may at all times have suiiicient Starting with the machine in the position shown in Fig. 3, the rotation of the shaft g causes the toggles 7c and m to straighten and move the plungers h toward the mold-drum and at the same time causes the feeder p to quickly rise clear of said plungers. When the toggles are straight, the plungers h reach the forward limit of their travel and force material from the feed-chamber into the molds. The pitman 71 continues its rising motion until the toggles are flexed in an upward direction and the plungers are again retracted. With the retraction of the plungers the feeder 19 descends into the feed-chamber o, carrying with it a fresh supply of material. As soon as the plungers h have reached the rearward limit of their travel the arm 77. causes the motion of the pitman to be reversed, thus lowering the toggle center k and again straightening the toggles. During both the upward and return movement of the pitman n. the drum B remains stationary, so that the forward motion of the plungers due to the down ward straightening of the toggles causes a fresh charge of material to be introduced into the same molds which have been partially filled on the upward flexing of said toggles. The pit man n continues its downward motion until the toggles are again flexed downward and the plungers h again reach the retracted position shown in Fig. 3. By

thus arranging the parts so that the molddrum 13 remains stationary during two complete forward strokes of the plungers the molds are not only well filled, but the mate rial is well compacted therein by reason of the two separate pressing actions to which the material is subjected. The material is acted upon a part at a time, and therefore the material first introduced and occupying the bottom of the mold is as well compacted as the material at the top of the mold. If the resistance of the material has become too great as it is being forced into the molds, the springs 1" yield, and thus prevent undue strain upon the machine. While the molds are thus being filled, the dog 0 is moved forward in a direction opposite to the direction of the arrow, Fig. 7, so that by the time the plungers have finally left the molds the drum B will rotate sufficiently to bring the next set of molds in a position to receive the plungers h. The drum 13 rotates in such a direction that the filled molds move upward and over toward the secondary plungers q. The plungers qand other parts of the re-pressing mechanism are so constructed that the mo tion of the said secondary plungers toward the mold-drum will take place while .said drum is stationary and the primary plungers h are filling the molds. The re-pressing mechanism gives a final pressure to the material in the molds after the mold-drum has made half of a complete revolution. This period of time intervening between the first pressing and the re-pressing of the material is of special advantage when the machine is operated upon materials whose particles do not quicklyand readily adjust themselves during compression. As a considerable interval of time occurs in my machine between the first pressing and the repressing, an opportunity is afforded to the particles to become mutually adjusted,the material consequently becoming more susceptible to the re-pressing action of the plungers q. The re -pressing plungers make but a single forward movement for each set of molds as presented; but the pressure exerted is great, and this slow high pressure gives great solidity to the finished product. As the drum rotates to advance any given set of molds .beyond the re-pressing plungers q the stems c of the ejectors are brought into contact with the fixed cam (1. As a result the ejector-plates are forced outward toward the mouth of the molds, and by the time the said given set of molds has reached a position at the under side of the drum the blocks or briquets will be discharged onto the conveyorbeltv and carried away,as illustrated in Fig. 3.

Inasmuch as the plungers h and (1 act in opposite directions, the shaft l) is relieved of much of the strain due to the pressing of the material into the molds.

It is evident that in matters of mere construction and arrangement of the parts many changes may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is--- 1. In a molding apparatus, the combination of a cylindrical drum rotatable about a horizontal-axis and having molds in its cylindrical surface; a reciprocatory cross-head; plungers in said cross-head; a stationary feedchamber interposed between said plungers and said mold-drum; a feeder travelingin said feed-chamber; and means operated by said cross head for operating said feeder.

2. In a molding apparatus, the combination of a rotatable cylindrical mold-drum, a reciprocatin g cross-head movable toward and from said drum, plungers mounted in said crosshead, a stationary feed-chamber interposed between said plnngers and said mold-drum, a feeder working in said feed-chamber, and a link-and-lever device operated by said crosshead for operating said feeder.

3. In a molding apparatus, the combination of ahorizontal shaft a cylindrical mold-drum loosely mounted thereon; molds in the cylindrical surface of said drum; means for introducing material into said molds; a ratchet on said drum; a rocker-arm loosely pivoted on said shaft; means for operating said rockerarm; and a dog pivoted on said rocker-arm for operating said ratchet, said dog in its rearward motion moving more than one toothspace on said ratchet whereby there is a 10stmotion interval on the forward motion of said rearward motion of said dog on said ratchet;

4. In a molding apparatus, the combination of a horizontal shaft, a drum mounted on said shaft, molds in saidv drum, plungers for filling said molds, a toggle mechanism for operating said plungers, a'dog-and-ratchet device for intermittently rotating said drum, a rockshaft f", connections between said shaft and said toggle mechanism for operating the latter, and other means for connecting said rockshaft with said ratchet-and-dog device for operating the same.

5. In a molding apparatus, the combination of a mold-drum rotating about, a horizontal axis; plungers for compressing material in said mold; a main driving-shaft, a rock-shaft as f, and three rocker-arms secured to said rock-shaft, one of said rocker-arms receiving motion; from. the main driving-shaft to operate said rock-shaft, the second one of said arms having connections to said drum to ro-' ROBERT M. HALE.

Witnesses: r JULIA M. BRISTOL, HOWARD M. 00X. 

